Examples

I am going to piggyback on the WSJ debacle, namely the op-ed signed by 16 scientists stating there was "no need to panic over global warming", and the response letter signed by climate scientists, which states that the op-ed was the "climate-science equivalent of dentists practicing cardiology" -- since there were various non-climate scientists among the signatories.

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, in his Roll Call op-ed "President Is Ignoring Immigration Laws," Feb. 6, argues that a policy of deporting serious criminals instead of parents, military families and students attending college is bad for the country.

A cheap-shot picture of grandma being thrown off a cliff by an evil Republican is worth at least a 1,000-word op-ed regarding $38 trillion in Medicare liabilities, a future funding crisis and the benefits of true marketplace competition in health care.

I always thought that this meant "opinion and editorial", but then a note on Bill Walsh's Blogslot to the effect that most people don't know what the "op" really means led me to look it up. It turns out that "op-ed" means "opposite the editorial page." As someone who worked in newspapers for the better part of the 1990s, I am rather chagrined.